September 2012

Nearly every day for two years, Jan Cowles and myself (Nick) had partnered together in connecting with one another in prayer and sharing of life together. (He is another leader among Denver-area house churches). In the summer of 2011, Jan visited the doctor for a routine heart exam and the doctors noticed spots on his lungs. Soon thereafter, he was found to have stage 4 lung cancer. We walked together through this period, growing closer and looking forward to our daily chats and prayer time. We were each blessed with our relationship to each other and became good friends…and on a personal level, Jan became very influential in my life and a great spiritual mentor.

Just over one year after being diagnosed with cancer, Jan’s body succumbed to the disease on September 15th. Tina (Jan’s wife) had asked me to put together a video of pictures and music (his own guitar work!) from his life.

Often times when we would “check-in” with each other, our conversations could last upwards of an hour. We would talk about the latest books he was reading and Jan had an amazing ability to draw out rich nuggets of truth to discuss and apply to current life events. He was a good listener, very understanding, and gave poignant advice. Not the mention that Jan also introduced me to something that was dear to his heart and upbringing – Sheboygan bratwursts! Jan loved his family dearly and we never ceased to pray for them as well as pray together for Kara. Even in the weeks leading to his passing, he and I continued to pray together for each other, pray for others and God’s movement in the area, and even talk about the desire Jesus had placed in his heart for the next church to begin.

Dear friend, I miss our conversations. I love you much, miss you, and long to see you again in heaven one day.

On September 8th, we photographed the wedding ceremony of Debbie Bollhoefner and Dave Hackenkamp. Debbie is a former neighbor of ours and a longtime friend, so we were very privileged to be asked to be part of their special day! Along with doing the photos, I always like to put together a short video as well…